Andrew Yang at Democratic debate: No one uses Bing. ‘Sorry, Microsoft, it’s true.’

Andrew Yang on Bing

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang speaks during the Democratic presidential debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio on October 15.Will McNamee | Getty Images

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If you had to put your money on topics for a Democratic presidential primary debate in 2019, no one would fault you for omitting Bing.com.

But thanks to Andrew Yang, the web search engine launched by Microsoft in 2009 became a quirky hot topic during Tuesday’s debate in Ohio.

Yang, who has worked as a tech entrepreneur, referenced Bing while answering a question during the CNN and New York Times debate about the proper level of oversight for tech companies, including Facebook and Twitter.

“We also have to be realistic that competition doesn’t solve all of the problems,” said Yang, 44. “It’s not like any of us wants to use the fourth best navigation app, that would be like cruel and unusual punishment. There’s a reason why no one is using Bing today.”

A slow “ooh” began to rise up from the audience.

“Sorry, Microsoft, it’s true,” he said.

On Twitter, one of the social networks that candidates talked about during the discourse about tech oversight, Yang’s Bing remark inspired a swift trade in Bing jokes, Bing defenses and general Bing content. Sure enough, Bing became a trending topic.

Overall, in a Google-dominant world, it was a pretty big night for Bing, which had the effect of undermining some of Yang’s supporting point.

Of course, a sea of jokes ensued about people Googling Bing, Yang not showing up in Bing searches and retaliation against the presidential candidate from Bill Gates.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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